


Substitutions for Physical Affection

by NoBrandHero



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Canon, Texting, p4week2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 11:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1743623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoBrandHero/pseuds/NoBrandHero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long-distance relationships usually suck, but this one feels worse, considering Yuu used to live within walking distance and Yousuke never made a move until they had over a hundred miles between them. At least they can plan to reunite after graduation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Substitutions for Physical Affection

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Persona 4 the Fanwork Week, Day Four: Favorite pairing.
> 
> I'm sorry but elongated vowels getting ignored in Japanese romanization is my pet peeve, so I spell the character names as Yousuke and Yuu. (And I hope no one minds me using Yuu over Souji? Souji seems a lot more popular in the fandom, but I've never read the manga so I feel kind of weird using it.)

The most frustrating part about starting a relationship with Yuu after he left Inaba was that they hadn't actually been able to kiss yet. Yuu sometimes sent Yousuke suggestive emoticons and roleplay actions just to make Yousuke flustered, but beyond that hug on the riverbank, they had no physical affection to their name.

They made do with all the communication methods technology had to offer instead: social media, phone calls, texts, emails, Skype video chats... The video chats were Yousuke's preferred means of conversation, but homework and family obligations kept them infrequent and short. They still made sure to talk just a little, even if it was a quick text exchange, at least once a day.

The only communication means they ignored was snailmail, besides the rare occasion that they sent each other packages. Usually they just borrowed DVDs from each other that way, but for Christmas Yuu sent Yousuke a pink stuffed alligator and a box of chocolates. Yousuke had to promptly hide both items from an excited Kuma as soon as they were unpacked -- the chocolates before he stole them and the plushie before he could ask about it. The next chance he got, Yousuke called Yuu up to tell him off.

"Dude, I'm a guy! A _guy_. You don't treat me like a _girl_ just because we're dating! We're still both guys here! Okay?" He tried not to sound too exasperated as he paced his room. "You send dudes CDs, or a gift card, or an I.O.U., just not a _pink stuffed animal_."

"You haven't read the children's book?" was Yuu's flat yet curious reply.

Yousuke sighed. "I'm also not a little kid, Yuu."

"You can borrow it from Nanako. You'll cry when you read it."

Yousuke furrowed his brow. "How is that incentive?" He rubbed his temple. "Whatever, it's the thought that counts and this sure was... thoughtful. And, fine, the chocolates are really good." He sighed. "Just try not to give me things I'm too embarrassed to let Satonaka see in my room, okay?"

"You're keeping it in your room?"

He blushed and ducked his head in case Kuma walked in to see. "Well, duh. It's from you."

"You're welcome," Yuu said, his voice unusually warm.

The blush grew worse but the tip of Yousuke's mouth quirked into a smile. "Yeah, yeah, thanks, you weirdo."

He kept the plushie hidden under his blankets most of the time and held it close on extra lonely nights. He'd never admit it though and Kuma only caught him once.

The near-daily phone calls with Yuu were some relief, but what Yousuke wouldn't give to see him in person again. What with the throes of third year classes and homework, there just wasn't time for either of them to hop a train, especially not with college applications right around the corner.

"Jeez, I don't know," Yousuke said, trying futilely to tackle his history homework while on the phone. (To be fair, the homework hadn't been going well before Yuu called either.) "I'm not exactly college material here, but I think my dad would be pretty stoked if I went. And, hey, it's better than working at a department store, right?" He sighed. "If I get accepted anywhere, that is."

"We could go to the same school," Yuu said.

"Wouldn't that be something." Yousuke groaned. "Don't tease me, dude. This long-distance stuff already sucks."

"I wasn't kidding."

Yousuke straightened. "Wh- Yeah right! Like I could ever keep up with the schools _you'd_ apply to, Mr. Highest Grades in the Class!"

"I'll aim lower."

" _What_? Oh man, are... are you serious?" Yousuke laughed nervously. "Holy shit. We could... we could actually do that, couldn't we? Live in the same town again."

"It's better than rooming with a stranger."

Yousuke snorted. "Yeah, no shit. Man, we gotta plan this out. This could go great, actually! Oh, I'll have to figure something out for Kuma-kichi, but that'll be easier than getting me accepted somewhere, right?"

They spent the next couple of weeks making plans, talking to parents, and Googling their options. It didn't take long before Yousuke grew overwhelmed by the endless webpages to comb for admission information, though Yuu seemed undeterred.

During a video chat one evening, Yousuke suggested they narrow their possibilities down a little so they could at least keep their search terms a little less broad. When he brought up location as a way to eliminate schools, they hit their first genuine snag: Without a second's hesitation, Yuu voted for a rural school.

" _Hell. No._ " Yousuke jammed his finger into the desk twice in emphasis. "If I'm gonna just stick to the boonies anyway, I might as well stay right here in Inaba and move up the ranks at Junes."

"Okay."

Yousuke fought the urge to faceplant against the desk. "I am not doing that, dammit! Besides, there's not a college here! What would you do?"

"Fishing," Yuu said, his expression as indifferent as ever.

"Y'know, Yuu," Yousuke said with a small wince, "sometimes I worry about you."

They ended the video chat half an hour later without any progress. Neither one would budge on it. Cripes, they'd never disagreed on something so strongly before, but Yousuke really wanted his urban life back, now that he had a chance to leave. Inaba was nice and all, he'd recommend it to anyone who _liked_ the rural lifestyle, but there was just so much _missing_ in a small community. Yuu could apparently live without such things.

Yousuke had an epiphany in the middle of the night. It seemed obvious in retrospect, but he dove for the phone the next morning to propose the idea to Yuu as soon as possible.

 **me:** suburban  
 **me:** for college  
 **me:** what do u think best of both worlds rite?  
 **yuu:** Okay.

He let out a relieved chuckle. They had a strategy for searching out a school: Suburban and as prestigious as they could risk without ruining any shot of Yousuke getting accepted. Yuu was still the one to narrow their options down to a dozen, which he presented to Yousuke for deliberation until they finally had five schools they both agreed on.

The application process was worse than the search process by far. Yousuke wanted to tear his hair out over the length of some of the forms he had to fill out. And then there were the application _essays_...

 **me:** hey do u think its ok if my essay is 3 pages  & not 4?  
 **yuu:** No.  
 **me:** damn  
 **yuu:** Yousuke.  
 **me:** ?  
 **yuu:** You're about to graduate high school and your spelling still sucks.  
 **yuu:** My name probably isn't even capitalized in your contacts.  
 **me:** of c it is  >:(

Yousuke switched apps in a hurry to update Yuu's contact info before his phone buzzed again.

 **Yuu:** I don't really care if it is.  
 **Yuu:** Just email me or Yukiko your college applications so we can look them over before you send them in.  
 **me:** ugh im gonna drag ur college prospects so low  
 **me:** u could prolly get in 2 tokyo u if u were on ur own  
 **Yuu:** Yeah, probably.  
 **me:** well dont get all modest now!!

Yuu must have contacted Yukiko himself, because she stopped by with Chie the next day and offered to help Yousuke at least get through his applications. Chie suggested they form a study group to get through finals as well, though he suspected she was at least partially self-motivated on that front.

Normally Yousuke's brain switched off after ten minutes of intense studying, but the lingering fear of "Yuu's going to get accepted somewhere amazing and have to turn it down because of me" snapped him back at attention. (It also helped that Chie took to smacking him upside the head if she caught him daydreaming. The girls were pretty determined to get someone from the group to rejoin their leader at college and neither of them were leaving town.)

His hands shook when he finally mailed the applications a week later. It only took one day before he couldn't stop checking the mail, even knowing it would take weeks for a reply, as Yuu bluntly pointed out when he referenced his empty mailbox during a phone call.

Of course the most prestigious school of the lot -- the one he had the least chance with -- sent out their replies first.

He couldn't actually bring himself to open the envelope. It was thick; that was probably a good sign, unless they felt his application was so pisspoor that they needed to send him multiple pages on why he was so unworthy of their institution.

He deliberated over it for so long that Kuma finally stole the envelope and tore it open despite Yousuke's panicked screeches. Kuma flipped through the paper, keeping just out of Yousuke's reach, until he stopped and held up a specific sheet with a triumphant grin.

They'd accepted his application. _They'd accepted his application._ Holy crap, he could almost cry. Yuu smiled for him when he heard the news over Skype.

(It shocked no one when Yuu was also accepted a day later.)

All that remained was surviving finals, graduation, and a tearful farewell to the rest of the investigation team when Yousuke finally boarded that train away from Inaba. (The girls were tearing up, not him. Never him. Kanji did, but not him. Obviously.)

Yuu's train was supposed to get in before his, so there wouldn't be any waiting when he reached the station. Provided they could find each other. Provided they could still recognize each other- Oh, for crying out loud, they talked on Skype all the time! Of course they'd still recognize each other!

He tried to nap just to ignore his beyond unfounded anxieties, then fiddled with his phone when that didn't work. It buzzed about half an hour from his destination.

 **Yuu:** I'll be there as soon as you're off the train.

Yousuke's throat clenched. He grabbed his baggage early, holding the handles so tight his fingers hurt, and moved to wait in front of the door as soon as they left the last station before his, even though it would be another ten minutes before he could exit.

He'd thought Yuu had been exaggerating, but no sooner had he stepped off the train than he saw Yuu waving to him in the distance. Yousuke ran for him.

He didn't care that they were in public. He dropped his bags, threw his arms around Yuu, and took that first kiss they'd waited too damn long to finally share.

**Author's Note:**

> If this were in Japanese, Yousuke probably wrote Yuu's contact info in hiragana instead of kanji.
> 
> Haha, sorry, this was kind of rushed 'cos I wanted to finish it before the fourth ended... Maybe I'll polish it later, if I think it needs it on a reread.


End file.
